18 July 2011- Tehran/Vienna (UNODC) - Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) arrived in Tehran today for a three-day official visit of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which would also take him to the borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a drugs rehabilitation center.

Mr. Fedotov will meet Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and other senior officials. During these meetings, Mr. Fedotov will discuss counter-narcotics efforts since Iran has the world's highest rate of seizures of opium and heroin and is contributing effectively to various regional mechanisms. He will discuss with the President of Iran enhanced cooperation, increased technical dialogue with the international community and active participation in the forthcoming UNODC Regional Programme for Afghanistan and neighbouring countries.

The Islamic Republic of Iran accounts for the highest rate of opium seizures (89%) in the world, as well as heroin/morphine (41%), according to the
UNODC World Drug Report 2011. With drug trafficking and related crimes presenting grave threats to regional and international security, Mr. Fedotov commended the Government for its commitment to curbing this trade. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has put in place one of the world's strongest counter-narcotics responses. Its counter narcotics efforts, good practices and concerns deserve the acknowledgment of the international community".

The country devotes millions of dollars to counter-narcotics programmes and thousands of police officers are stationed at borders to repel traffickers. Sadly, the human toll is heavy: some 3,700 police officers have been killed in counter-narcotics operations and tens of thousands injured over the last thirty years.

"I pay tribute to those who have perished and express my deepest sympathies to their families," said the Executive Director. "Iran often bears the brunt of the narcotics trade. The sacrifices made by these brave men are helping us all to stem the tide of drugs."

Another tragic consequence of the drugs trade is the epidemic of HIV contracted through contaminated injecting equipment. Almost 70% of the 22,000 detected HIV cases in Iran are injecting drug users.

Iran faces one of the world's most serious addiction problems and is providing effective drug treatment and HIV control services to drug users through hundreds of NGOs working in the community and with special programmes for prisoners. The country has developed comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, and care and support services for injecting drug users.

Mr. Fedotov recognized that the Government played an active role in supporting regional initiatives, including in the UNODC-brokered
Triangular Initiative, which brings together the Ministers for drug control of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan. Operations coordinated by the Joint Planning Cell have been encouraging - 6 tons of drugs seized as a result of 10 joint operations and intelligence sharing. "I encourage the three countries to step up dialogue, further cooperation and achieve even more impressive results" he said.

This year, UNODC launched a four-year
Country Programme of Technical Cooperation on Drugs and Crime developed in cooperation with the Iranian Drug Control Headquarters and international partners.

"I am here to lend support for Iran's vital strategic role in curbing illicit drugs. I hope the international community will follow suit and support Iranian anti-narcotics measures," said the Executive Director.